Thread: Staying safe

We have had too many riders lost again this year. It’s made me think about what, if anything, we might do to help to reduce the toll. We can’t do anything to eliminate all of our risks, there are just so many freak things that can happen, and some of us are going to fall- we all understood that when we decided we were going to be riders. But I will offer this for you to think about, take it for what it’s worth:

I’ve managed to stay safe and without an injury for more than 40 years, and besides good luck, I think there are really only two reasons:

One is understanding how to handle the machine-something a lot of people understand, and do very well. This is obvious, and important-and we should all focus on having and constantly working on the requisite skills. But I know that when I was younger and more aggressive, I came to trust my skills too much, almost to the point of arrogance, and for sure only good luck saved me more than once. Thinking over the last ten years or so, I haven’t needed luck nearly as often, only once that I can remember.

The second thing that I work on is never forgetting that riding safely requires constant attention, to the exclusion of everything else. You can’t be thinking about work, family, the next ride, did you miss a turn or where you are stopping for burgers; you must be focused on your riding and on the threats around you, because they are everywhere. Pilots call it situational awareness, and we have to have it just like pilots do. If your head isn’t in the game, get off the bike until it is. To be honest, my reflexes aren’t as sharp as they once were, and neither is my vision (it’s still good, but it was better) ; but I know that I’m a better rider today than I was ten years ago, and much better than I was 20 or 30 years ago. It has more to do with attitude and awareness than pure skill.


I suspect that most of our members have good riding skills, some of you are no doubt much better than merely good. That’s good, and it’s important- but I ask you all, please - ask yourself- are you REALLY paying attention to the degree that you should be?

Those are VERY important points that hit home for me.

When I was younger (like most) I was WAY too brave...and thought WAY too much of my skills.

These days, when I'm on the bike, all I can think to myself is "how on earth did I survive my youth (idiocy)?"

I have much better situational awareness (mostly due to not riding wasted anymore) but also due to grown up eyes, they see danger everywhere.

right now I'm working on the skills. After my recent hiatus, and bike change...I feel like a super noob.

I'm comfortable in traffic, but I've been stayin off the roads at night. Things come in stages.

One thing I always try to remember when I leave the house is, of all the friends I've lost over the years, a small percentage were riding like a responsible adult, at the time of their accident.
Most of these accidents would have been avoided if they weren't riding at or near their limits.

Rob

Excellent post Brian... words of wisdom!

And an award for you sir.

Excellent points gentlemen and may I add just one additional bit to the mix. For those of us that ride to and from work as well as recreationally like I do, I'd submit that everyone try to keep the "I'm invisible to everyone" matra close to the forefront of your ever-vigilant scanning and assessing persona while riding. I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to see and assess an idiot cager's inability to maintain his/her lane. A horn, unless one of the Air variety, is useless in attempting to get said cager's attention. It has been my experience that they will look in the direction of that "sound" and everyone knows that the head is directly connected to the one hand on the wheel. Look left turn left etc, not to mention that the faster they look the faster they come in on ya.

I wish everyone safety and wisdom in this riding season and those for years to come.

I've only been riding for about 2 years and 6 months and have over 67,000 miles under my belt. The thing for me is that 80% of those miles are either after 9:00 pm or between 4:00 and 6:00 am. I work 6 days a week and have two kids with lots of extra curricular activities on weeknights. What kept me safe is always paying attention to everything around me. I always play the what if game and always have an escape route in case of emergency situations. I've been cutoff many times either by accident or on purpose, who knows. One thing I don't forget is that number one, I have a family waiting for me to come home to. We all have loved ones waiting for us to come home to. Number two, I don't go crazy out there because I can't afford to get into trouble. Another thing I always do is ask God to keep me safe out there before I get on that bike. And when I get home, I thank him for that. You guys can't blame me for doing this. I grew up Catholic and always close to the man up there. I got this from my Mom. She was a single Mom. It may sound corny to some of you but I NEVER leave the house without asking him to watch over me. I started a thread on TWF before entitled Safe Riding Tips. I have dozens and dozens of them but I will contribute one or two and leave the rest to you guys. Here's one.
When you're on the main road and going to make a left turn onto an intersection or a side street, always check for pedestrians that are already on the crosswalk where you're turning. I know, you're so busy paying attention to the oncoming traffic and not looking for pedestrians. If there happens to be one on the crosswalk and you move forward, guess where you're going to stop? That's right. This is really important especially at night.
Another one, NEVER assume you have the right of way whereever you are. Intersections or whatever. That's not always the case anymore. I managed to avoid several incidents from thinking this way. Ok guys, the rest is up to you.

Ok, let me add a couple more. When approaching an intersection, use the pedestrian light to decide what to do. If it's already blinking it will turn yellow in a matter of seconds. One thing I always do when stopped and I'm the very first one at the intersection is always stay in first gear and plan an escape route. Another thing is that I kind of angle the bike a little so I can see behind me better in case there's a car approaching behind me. This I learned on my own.

Props to Sleeper for 67k in 2 1/2 years on that schedule.

I never thought about pedestrians...GOOD POINT.

Rob

Originally Posted by sleeper_red

Ok, let me add a couple more. When approaching an intersection, use the pedestrian light to decide what to do. If it's already blinking it will turn yellow in a matter of seconds. One thing I always do when stopped and I'm the very first one at the intersection is always stay in first gear and plan an escape route. Another thing is that I kind of angle the bike a little so I can see behind me better in case there's a car approaching behind me. This I learned on my own.

Angling the bike is a very good practice, the one time I've had a close call in the last few years was due to my failure to do just that when stopped in a construction zone. The guy coming up behind locked his brakes up and damn near hit me. Hate to rely on luck like that.

Just keepin' it bumped...

Originally Posted by busabrian

are you REALLY paying attention to the degree that you should be?

Ahh....Ahh........the war of 1812?

Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.



cheers
ken

and thats why I like riding with Brian! all ways know were I am and an excellent rider and friend!

I'll throw in my little bit. Always check your bike BEFORE you ride. When I go out with my friends we usually pick up a few other riders on the way. You wouldn't believe the stuff we find wrong on other riders' bikes. From loose chains to fuel leaks.

All the information in the previous threads are great words of wisdom. Be safe!!

lack of air in there tires!!!!

I just want to help the newbies on this forum to be safer out there. Some helpful tips.
#1. Never, ever stay in neutral when stopped at an intersection. Angle your bike a little when stopped so you can have a better view of the vehicle approaching you from behind.
#2. Always plan a escape route in case the car behind you doesn't stop.
#3. When approaching an intersection and the pedestrian light's already blinking (assuming there's one), slow down, check behind you and don't forget to check for vehicles yielding from the opposite direction.
#4. When approaching an intersection, say there are 2 or 3 lanes in both directions, stay away from the left lane. Turning vehicles from the opposite direction can see you better when you're in the middle or right lane. You will also have a better view of the vehicles that will make a left in front of you.
#5. When you're turning left at an intersection waiting for your chance, scan where you're going for pedestrians that are already on the crosswalk. This is really important especially when it's dark. This is one thing I told my wife to do at all times. You're so busy looking at the oncoming traffic and you forget to check your path for pedestrians. If there's one already in your path, guess where you're going to stop? That's right.
#6. When leaving your neighborhood streets or side streets, make sure to check to your right too for pedestrians or bicyclists. I know the first thing you check is the traffic coming from your left. Assuming there's a sidewalk on your right, don't forget to check that too. I included this one because I had a bicyclist (a kid) didn't stop in front of me as I was making a right turn. Good thing I looked.
I thought about sharing these tips because I ride at night and early mornings a lot. Whatever you have, please share. I just want everyone in here to enjoy riding for as long as they can. I have a lot more but I'll leave the rest to you guys. Be safe. One last thing, I never ride without proper gear.

I hope this is ok to post here. If not, please delete. Thanks.
http://www.twowheelforum.com/showthread.php?t=23184

No worries, any contributions to a discussion about safety are very welcome.

Hey Blues, most of those miles were done on my R1 (my very first bike). I started riding in October of '05. No riding experience whatsoever prior to going to MSF class. September 26 of '07, I traded it in for my brand new '07 Busa. She now has 15,393 miles. Can you imagine if I live in a place that doesn't get snow? On Two Wheel Forum, they call me "the mad man". They said I put more miles than full time riders. I consider myself a part time rider. That's because I work 6 days a week, sometimes 10 hours a day. Mondays and Wednesday nights, my son has Karate class from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. My daughter has piano lesson on Sunday mornings from 9:00-9:45, CCD class from 10:15-11:45, and other family activities. So what I do is I get up at 4:00 am and go around the beltway. It's close to 100 mile ride. I call it 100 miles before breakfast. I do the same thing after 9:00 pm if I can. So that's close to 200 miles a day. The longest ride I've ever done on my R1 was when I had a vacation. I did 825 miles in 14 1/2 hours. I've done a couple of 12+hour rides on both bikes on holidays. I just love riding so much. That's how I recharge my battery.

This is why I angle my bike when stopped and I stay almost to the side.

http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/1bikestop.gif

Holy hell, that hurts to watch.

It sure hurts to watch. That's why I don't stop in the middle of the road if I'm the first to get there. I scan the intersection first and look for a escape route even before I come to a complete stop. When you're out there in the dark 80% of your riding time, you'd do whatever it takes to avoid something like that. One thing I try to avoid too is riding late Friday and Saturday nights when people go out to drink.
Also, when the pedestrian light's already blinking (assuming there is one)I look behind me to see if there's a vehicle behind me. If there is, I use the best possible decision to avoid getting nailed from behind. And when there's an intersection that doesn't have pedestrian light (I know it's rare)I also try to make the best decision possible.

Thought it might be time to bump this thread.

I was thinking the same thing last night, Good call Brian...


Ride safe everyone, it's our job to watch out for them!! this year is going to be my hardest year riding as my son has finally gotten his permit and will be riding with me and without me... I know he is all ready tired hearing from me about saftey but he will continue hearing it from me as I love him!

My youngest brother just got a bike also. It's a cruiser so I feel al ittle better, but............................................... ......this is the first year he'll be riding.

People can do stupid things on cruisers also Josh.

Ouch. My ditzy coworker just rear ended a bus because she was programming her gps. Yes, she's blonde.

Originally Posted by HEAVYbusa

Ok then, my little friend says to stay safe.